Bassanova – Some Ramen are Better than Others

I have mixed feelings about reblogging this one. On one hand I have an important update on Bassanova (Important to me at least. To roughly 89% of yous this is as important as the news that Bruce Jenner is now wearing a bra). But on the other hand, after reading the original post below, I have no clue what the hell I’m talking about there. I suppose I can just rewrite the entire thing, but that would not be keeping it real. You are with me folks, with the good and the bad, and the terrible. And the “He must be high on kasha or something”.

I’ll make this one quick and painless, without any Morrissey references. Its painful enough for me to even spell Morisseey. But I really do wish everyday was like this Sunday. A nice day of eating with the misses where I introduced her to more of my favorites, and in return she made let me try on 17 pairs of jeans in Soho. I’m so lucky to have her.

Adding the Yuzu Wadashi Ramen to the equation. The Yuzu is cleaner, with a profound citrusy flavor in both the stock and noodles (Yuzu is an Asian Citrus fruit that looks like a cross between a grapefruit and a lemon). Cleaner than the Green Curry that is, which still rocks with its complexity and chewy wavy noodles. Its a fairly busy plate with okra, shrimp, and shaved dried chili, and almost mazemen-like with its thick broth. Still enjoyed it, but I give a slight nod to the lighter Yuzu at this point. We also loved the long flat sizzling hot Iron-Pan Stick Dumplings. They are hot alright, and quite delicious with pork, chives, chinese cabbage, garlic, and scallion. Get it!

I’m not complaining, but this is one of those places that puzzle me why there are no lines out the door like you see in Totto and Ippudo.

May 21st, 2014 post:

The likely title if the great Morrissey would have written this one for me. “Some Girls are Bigger than Others” by Morrissey and the Smiths always pops into my head when I go to one of those school events like I did today. And you know what? He’s right! Some girls are indeed bigger than others, and not only that but “Some girls mothers are bigger than other girls mothers” (listen to the song). You can say a lot about Morrissey, but you cant say he’s unobservant. Today at my 12 year old Honor Society Ceremony I just couldn’t help but notice how tiny some kids are compared to others. Some look like 16, while others look like 6.

BTW (switching to “Big mouth” as the soundtrack for this post) did you ever wonder why people put those “My child is in an honor student” bumper stickers on their cars. Is this something you need to announce to total strangers driving behind you? And do you honestly think that anyone would actually care and go “oh look honey, her son is an honor student, well isn’t that special” Why not announce it to total strangers at other venues, like when entering a subway train “LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, can I have your attention please..”. It never made sense to me. (Switching gears to “How Soon is Now”…)

Anyway, some Ramen are in fact better than others, and Bassanova’s Green Curry Ramen is moving up the NYC rankings. Rankings that include heavyweights like the Akamaru Modern by Ippudo, Spicy Ramen by Totto, and Ivan Ramen’s array of Ramen and Mazemen. The awards and various list mentions are proudly displayed on the sign in a very unique way. But to my and the Hummus Whisperer’s shock, no mention of the “Battle of the Soups” discovery by the Hummus Whisperer back in November”. While we didn’t expect the Bassanova founder to put the bumper sticker “I was mentioned on Eating With Ziggy” we sent him, we did expect something next to the NYT top 10.

The Green Curry Ramen is peppery, intense, and features wavy thicker al-dente noodles which I haven’t seen before in a Ramen bowl. The added okra, shrimp and of course the porky goodness adds to the joy. The pork stock with hints of fish was rich, complex and simply Marvelous. Another unique Ramen to us but an increasingly common one in Tokyo is the Lemon Pepper featuring thinner more basic noodles. The waitress grinds fresh pepper on top of the lemon slices coating the entire dish. Check out Bassanova everyone